Progression
by Neige Nivro
Summary: 50 sentences completed for the 1sentence LiveJournal community on the HouseWilson couple. Uh...yea, that's as good a summary as I can think of.


**Fandom: **House M.D.  
**Pairing: **Gregory House/ James Wilson  
**Theme set: **Beta  
**Rating: **So PG it hurts.  
**Title: **Progression  
**Author Notes: **It's taken awhile, but I finally finished it. I was hard on myself and made the the sentences go in pretty much chronological order, but I think it was worth the work. Please excuse any canon mistakes I may have made and the blatant semicolon and dash abuse. Enjoy! **  
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**1- Walking-**  
Unconsciously, they would fall into step with each other-- a side by side extension of the same soul.

**2 – Waltz** -  
Dancing had been something that belonged exclusively to Stacy until Wilson ruined it by not taking 'My cane has two left feet' for an answer and teaching him to waltz-- by being the first one able to support House's weight when the dance moved to the forbidden area on the right.

**3 – Wishes-**  
Wilson wishes for many, many things, but it is a rare and precious few that are actually desires for himself.

**4 – Wonder-**  
After being shot, House had to wonder, 'I thought there was supposed to be a silver lining around here somewhere,' but Wilson was sitting by his bed, so he didn't have the patience to consider where it was.

**5 – Worry-**  
It went past worry, beyond concern, further than fear-- it was nameless and shocking and Wilson strongly suspected it was symptomatic of love.

**6 – Whimsy-**  
The definition of whimsy was 'the quality of being quaint, odd, or playfully humorous in an especially endearing way'; Wilson pasted House's face over the words and left it on his desk.

**7 - Wasteland-**  
The balcony was their reprieve from the hospital--their only time to sit and think that maybe they were happy after all--until beepers rang and monitors wailed and people died, just to summon all their misery back.

**8 - Whiskey and rum-**  
House watched the ice melt in Wilson's rum--diluting it terribly--and silently protested by refilling his own glass to the top.

**9 – War-**  
Their arguments turned vehement if only because hatred was preferable to indifference; if only because they knew how much a casualty in this war would cost.

**10 – Weddings-**

Three came and went with the same happiness, the same tux, and the same best man giving his almost too sarcastic toast.

**11 – Birthday-**  
Cameron always made the mistake of getting House something--of not realizing that birthdays needed to be celebrated, not with cake and presents, but with extra Vicodin and beers on the couch, preferably with Wilson, as they both made damn sure not to mention the underlying reason for why they were there.

**12 – Blessing-**  
God didn't exist in House's world, but sometimes he had to forget that so that he had someone to thank (and curse) for the only blessing he had been given; thanking Wilson to his face was simply out of the question.

**13 – Bias-**

It was no secret how some case files seemed to find their way into House's hands more easily than others.

**14 – Burning-**  
The feeling had been a dull ache at first, but now it had spawned into pure fire and House's leg was bitterly jealous of Wilson for being able to create such a devastating effect.

**15 – Breathing-**  
It hadn't occurred to the two that they had been standing too close until House turned around and their noses brushed; air mixed, hearts pounded, and neither of them could say a word.

**16 – Breaking-**  
It resonated out from House's eyes into an aura that fogged up his office--all Cuddy could was call Wilson and hope he came in time.

**17 – Belief-**  
Belief was something that Wilson had circumstantially--he believed in God when he thought of it, he believed in monogamy when nothing better was around-- but he believed in House indefinitely because the last time he had been wrong, he had died.

**18 – Balloon-**  
House didn't like to delude himself for the sake of hope since he was aware that the bigger the balloon, the louder the pop would be.

**19 – Balcony-**  
The time came (more often than he would like to admit) when Wilson would want to tear down the little semi-wall between the two balconies, as though that would tear down all the walls between them, if merely because of the symbolism.

**20 – Bane-**  
The bane of House's life was simple since it always came at about 4 o' clock and was always in the Clinic, but the bane of Wilson's life was complicated because he came and left whenever he pleased.

**21 – Quiet-**  
It was always the first sign of a disaster when House would sit alone in his office, consulting the silence on what to do next.

**22 – Quirks-**  
Over the years, it had become harder to laugh away House's destructiveness as simply his "quirks", but Wilson laughed at them anyways because crying only confirmed how intimately he cared.

**23 – Question-**  
The question should have been easy for House to deny--to joke off, and forget--but it had stirred the truth awake, and now the truth wanted out.

**24 – Quarrel-**  
They heard the yelling all the way in Diagnostics--the anger, the curses, and the inevitable slam of the wooden door as House stormed out; the only thing they hadn't heard was how the argument began-- how a friendship had been severed at the exact moment they both leaned into the kiss.

**25 – Quitting-**  
"You're way too distracted this way, so stop giving Wilson the silent treatment, or I'm going to fire you,"; Cuddy was beyond resolute and House had never considered quitting before.

**26 – Jump-**  
Wilson was finally the one who swallowed his pride and hopped the divider between their balconies (every ounce of symbolism intended).

**27 – Jester-**  
It was good that House had a reputation as a prankster, since it made an easy explanation for their kiss--or, at least one that wouldn't involve their feelings or the truth too much.

**28 – Jousting-**  
House had picked the knight movie specifically because he had seen it before, so that when he "yawned" and gauged just where their "screwed up friendship" was now, his attention wouldn't be divided.

**29 – Jewel**-  
House always knew precisely when he fell in love because that was when his mind started to spout romantic drivel; when he first took notice of how Wilson's eyes reminded him of topaz, he knew he was in serious trouble.

**30 – Just-**  
It didn't seem fair that their one kiss had ended their friendship (despite how valiantly they had tried to fight against it), but when they kissed the second time, they had no choice but to just drop the pretense all together.

**31 – Smirk-**  
House couldn't help but think of Wilson as a sentimental fool as he stared at the oddly shaped pancakes on his plate and the note beside them, explaining why he had been forced to leave so early.

**32 – Sorrow-**  
Cameron wasn't bitter, nor was she really angry, but when she accidentally read the email from Wilson that had gotten mixed into House's referral requests, she couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

**33 – Stupidity- **  
House was fairly certain he was losing his mind--he hadn't taunted his ducklings, he missed an opportunity to tease Cuddy, and (above all else) he'd treated someone in the clinic, without sarcasm; when he told this to Wilson, all the blasted man did was laugh.

**34 – Serenade-**  
Sure, Guns N Roses isn't the most romantic band in the world, but Wilson appreciates the attempt and can't hide his grin.

**35 – Sarcasm-**  
Outright affection is an awkward, uncomfortable area for them, so they joke and tease instead of simply saying what they mean.

**36 – Sordid-**  
They had no shame for what they did--for what they didn't do--and it was this abrupt change that let them kiss in the hallway and only worry about who may have seen afterwards.

**37-- Soliloquy-**  
Wilson didn't lie to House, because it felt like he was lying to a brother; House didn't lie to Wilson because it felt like he was lying to himself.

**38 – Sojourn-**  
Wilson tends to say "forever", but House is a bit more pragmatic when it comes to happiness.

**39 – Share-**  
"Even now, you have no respect for my lunch," Wilson huffed in an irritated way, trying to rescue the meal from his boyfriend; House was unimpressed, "How typical--the boy steals my heart, and I can't even have half his sandwich," which stunned Wilson enough to end the scuffle.

**40 – Solitary-**

It was so uniquely House to, instead of simply changing his mindset that he was better off alone, simply resolve that he and Wilson would be alone together.

**41 – Nowhere-**  
It unnerves Wilson sometimes when he's forced to remember House is human; that nowhere is localized and has an address and sometimes finds its way into his lover's eyes.

**42 – Neutral-**  
If his addiction-- his pills-- only made him neutral, Wilson occasionally was insecure enough to wonder what _his_ effect really was.

**43 – Nuance-**  
To them, finally calling each other by their first names had been subtle and, in fact, almost unremarkable; to the rest of the hospital, it was the revolutionary suggestion that the two were in love.

**44 – Near-**  
They aren't sure who's supposed to open the doors and pull out the chairs, so they forget chivalry-- things like that don't mean as much to them as simply standing together (lately, a bit too close) on their balcony does.

**45 – Natural-**  
A hand here, a breath there--it was times like this that made House think (despite knowing better) that everything with Stacy had been a feigned love.

**46 – Horizon-**  
Friendship had degenerated into a relationship and, on the horizon now, they saw more troublesome truths developing.

**47 – Valiant-**  
It wasn't all sunshine and happy endings--there were many times when it took all of their stubbornness just to put up with each other through the day.

**48 – Virtuous-**  
Wilson knows he will never cheat on House and, to his credit, House is aware of this fact too; the fear trumps all.

**49 – Victory**  
House had been sure he'd won their first major argument, right up until he heard the front door slam shut.

**50 – Defeat-**  
Defeat had never looked as triumphant as it had in House's eyes when he showed up at Wilson's hotel room, whispering, "I'm sorry," and realizing with unexpected clarity that he had already been forgiven; "I love you too".


End file.
